The list of prescription medications that were once approved by the FDA, and later found to be dangerous grows at an alarming rate. Over the years, many medication have been withdrawn from the market.

Darvon and Darvocet for example was on the market for 55 years. Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals Inc. which makes Darvon and Darvocet, agreed to withdraw the medication from the U.S. market in 2010 at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA has also informed the generic manufacturers of propoxyphene-containing products of Xanodyne’s decision and requested that they voluntarily remove their products as well. Clinical data showed that the drug puts patients at risk of potentially serious or even fatal heart rhythm abnormalities.

Palladone, a narcotic painkiller manufactured by Purdue Pharma was on the market a half year in 2005. High levels of palladone could slow or stop breathing, or cause coma or death; combining the drug with alcohol use could lead to rapid release of hydromorphone, in turn leading to potentially fatally high levels of drugs in the system. The drug was recalled.

There are many other examples.

Now there is a new worry. Reuters Health reports that people taking common heartburn medications known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) like Nexium and Prevacid are at increased risk of new and severe kidney disease, according to a U.S. study. Among hundreds of thousands of patients in Department of Veterans Affairs databases, new users of PPIs without kidney disease were 30 percent more likely to develop chronic kidney disease over the course of five years. Their risk of kidney failure was doubled.

PPIs are prescribed to treat ulcers, heartburn and acid reflux and are some of the most effective forms of treatment available, the study authors write in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. These drugs are generally viewed as safe and may be overprescribed and continued for long periods without being necessary, they note.

But the study team found that people taking PPIs were at significantly higher risk of new kidney problems compared to those taking H2 blockers. The risk of a decline in kidney function was 32 percent higher for people taking PPIs and the risk of new cases of chronic kidney disease was 28 percent higher. Patients taking PPIs were 96 percent more likely to experience end-stage renal disease – kidney failure – than those who took H2 blockers.

The risks also increased with the time that someone was taking PPIs, leveling off after about two years of use. “We suggest judicious use of PPI, and that use be limited to when it is medically necessary and to the shortest duration possible,” said senior author Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, associate chief of staff for research and education at the VA Saint Louis Health Care System.

Because many PPIs are available over the counter, people may take them without the input of a doctor, Al-Aly said. He recommends limiting the use of over the counter PPIs to only times when it is necessary. “If people find themselves taking over the counter PPI frequently, then a doctor consultation is definitely needed to determine best and safest options available to that patient,” Al-Aly told Reuters Health by email.